The Montreal Canadiens were trying to stave off elimination in Game Five of their first round series against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Habs came out of the gates flying, and quite noticeably, had the faster start. They quickly went to work in the first, attacking and crashing the net, looking to end their 138 minute scoring drought.
A minute and half into the game, Montreal was handed their first penalty when Ben Chiarot was called for goaltender interference. Just one minute into the penalty kill, Montreal received a break when Xavier Ouellet took a slap-shot to dump the puck, but it made a weird bounce off the boards to Joel Armia. Armia then took a great wrist shot that beat Carter Hart for the early 1-0 lead.
That goal finally got the monkey off Montreal’s back and came after a drought that spanned a total of five days and four games played. The goal seemed to give the Habs confidence as they continued to play with speed while controlling the game.
In a span of about a minute, both teams were called for high sticking penalties, but nothing would come out of it on either end. The Flyers had a great chance to tie the game when Kevin Hayes managed to get a breakaway on Carey Price, but the veteran netminder made an incredible save.
With 53 seconds left remaining, the Flyers got called for another penalty when Joel Farabee received a call for tripping. The period ended with Montreal ahead and the Habs would start the second on the power play.
The Flyers would be able to kill off another penalty and things took a turn for the worse for Montreal. Jesperi Kotkaniemi was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct, being charged for boarding. The centreman hit Travis Sanhiem into the boards and left the defensemen with a bloody face.
Philadelphia would have five minutes to work on the power play and they managed to score two goals, both scored by Jakub Voracek. The first one, Voracek would go five-hole on Price, and the second, he was in front of the net and managed to get a shot that bounced in off Ben Chiarot’s skate.
This saw a shift in momentum and the Flyers had taken control of the game. With less than 10 minutes in the frame, the Montreal Canadiens struck even when Joel Armia took a great wrist shot on net. The shot seemed to fool Carter Hart, this tying the game up at two apiece.
40 seconds later, things got worse for Philadelphia as Philippe Myers got sent off for cross checking. Myers received the call when he hit Jake Evans in the face with his stick. 30 seconds into the Montreal power play, Brendan Gallagher, who had been benched in the third period of game four, finally got the monkey off his back and batted the puck into the back of the net. This would give the Canadiens a 3-2 lead over the opposing Flyers.
That goal seemed to push the Canadiens to continue attacking and seeking that insurance goal. With five minutes left in the second, Nick Suzuki thought he scored to make it 4-2, but the Flyers would then challenge for an offside call.
The refs would review the video, and upon further review, it was deemed that the play was offside. This was the case due to Jonathan Drouin entering the offensive zone before Suzuki did. The second period would end 3-2, leaving Montreal 20 minutes away from forcing a sixth game on Friday night.
Montreal had another fast start to the third and was continuing to pressure the Flyers in a hefty effort to take control of the game. The Canadiens took back-to-back penalties and the lack of discipline continued for the Habs. 10 seconds after Jeff Petry was sent off for tripping, Joel Farabee received a pass from Jakub Voracek and tipped it in past Carey Price. This would be the goal that tied the game up at three apiece.
It didn’t take long for Montreal to respond, as 20 seconds later, Nick Suzuki got a great pass from Jonathan Drouin, who was behind the net, and banked the puck past Hart. This would put the Habs ahead and give them some life with a 4-3 lead. With 17 seconds remaining and the net Philadelphia empty, Philip Danault easily put the puck in with a goal of his own to go up 5-3. This would be the insurance goal that would carry the Canadiens to the end point.
After the game’s final goal, things got a little heated as Sean Couturier levelled Artturi Lehkonen which caused a huge scrum as both benches fully cleared. The Canadiens managed to get the win with a 5-3 final to force a sixth game on Friday.
After the final whistle and the siren went off, there was another scrum nearby the benches and the message that was given to players is that game six is going to be a very emotional one as well as a physical one. Speaking of which, puck drop is scheduled to take place at 8:00pmET at Scotiabank Arena. The game is available for viewing on Sportsnet Ontario, CBC and NBCSN, meanwhile, it can be heard via radio on TSN 690 and 98.5fm. It will also be carried in Canadiens region on TVA Sports to be watched in French.